Shipping labels are commonly used to ship packages from a sender to a recipient. All shipping labels include a section for the designation of addressor/sender and a section for the designation of addressee/recipient. Usually, shipping labels are adhesive-backed in order that they may be secured to the package being sent.
An invoice is a business form used to indicate the quantity and description of products or services tendered, in combination with a request for payment of the same.
Quite often, products are shipped in packages bearing shipping labels, and invoices are mailed separately at a later time. Sometimes, an invoice in enclosed within the package being sent. Both of these methods, however, require additional printing and/or handling by the sender.
Others have created business forms having multiple parts and/or purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,694 (Laurash et al.), for example, discloses a tri-fold label or business form containing panels suitable for invoices, receipts and shipping labels. The patented form includes a Z-fold separating the three form sections.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,170 (Hatfield, Jr.) discloses a unitary shipping label, product information label and packing slip.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,383 (Laurash et al.) discloses a multipurpose tuck label/form
U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,167 (O'Brien) relates to a shipping and return mailing label. The patented form is tripartite and comprises a Z-fold.
Despite the teachings of the prior art, no one has of yet invented a simple pressure sensitive combination shipping label/invoice form which permits printing of both forms in a single operation and then adherence to a package as an integral form, displaying outwardly only the shipping label, thereby minimizing handling and expense.